Washington Post editor Marty Baron is responding to Sen. Bernie Sanders’ insinuation that he receives negative coverage from The Post because of comments about owner Jeff Bezos’ Amazon tax burden (or lack thereof).
Baron’s response:
"Sen. Sanders is a member of a large club of politicians -- of every ideology -- who complain about their coverage. Contrary to the conspiracy theory the senator seems to favor, Jeff Bezos allows our newsroom to operate with full independence, as our reporters and editors can attest."
Good for Marty Baron, and shame on Sen. Sanders for contributing to the erosion of faith in the press. With the Idiot in Chief droning on about “fake news” every day, journalists have their hands full defending themselves from attacks on the right. We don’t need progressive politicians joining in the assault.
The next time the Washington Post runs a well-reported story that is critical of the Trump administration (which it does on pretty much a daily basis), I can see Donald Trump tweeting that “even Bernie Sanders knows WaPo is dirty.” Bernie, please don’t do his propaganda work for him.
Edited to add: A comment from Nate Silver: